Seaman Schepps Wood
20th Century American Modern Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Link Bracelets
Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Link Bracelets
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Moonstone, 18k Gold
Early 2000s More Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Brooches
Carnelian, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Chalcedony, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
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Late 20th Century American Dome Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
20th Century Unknown Contemporary Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Contemporary Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Brooches
Gold Plate, Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Drop Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Drop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century French Modernist Brooches
Vintage 1980s Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Carnelian, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Late 19th Century European Victorian Brooches
Diamond, Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Bangles
Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Amber, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modern Link Bracelets
Mixed Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
Coral, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
1990s Italian Modernist Cocktail Rings
Coral, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Aventurine, Citrine, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
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Early 2000s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Bracelets
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Link Bracelets
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Bracelets
18k Gold
20th Century American Link Bracelets
Diamond, Gold
2010s American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hoop Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Earrings
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Earrings
18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
American Clip-on Earrings
Late 20th Century American Brooches
Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Unknown Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
1990s American Artist Brooches
18k Gold
20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Link Bracelets
18k Gold
2010s Modern Link Bracelets
Yellow Gold
20th Century Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Coral, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
Early 2000s Modern Stud Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Citrine, Sapphire, 18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
2010s Modern Drop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Retro Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Coral, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
2010s American Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern More Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Earrings
Gold
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Chain Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Clip-on Earrings
Gold
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Cultured Pearl, Topaz, 18k Gold
1990s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
2010s Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold
1990s American Link Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Brooches
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Citrine, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American More Earrings
18k Gold
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18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
Seaman Schepps Wood For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Seaman Schepps Wood?
Seaman Schepps for sale on 1stDibs
A scrappy, self-made artist who transformed turbo shells into decadent earrings and crystal chessmen into bold bracelets, Seaman Schepps (1881–1972) tirelessly worked his way up from the tenements of New York’s Lower East Side to become “America’s Court Jeweler.”
Born to immigrant parents who named him for the Seamen’s Bank for Savings that his mother could see from the hospital — or so the legend goes — Schepps dropped out of school at the age of 14 and never had any formal jewelry training. He later moved to California, where he opened his first jewelry shop in 1904. In 1921, he returned to New York to build on the success he’d begun to enjoy as a jeweler on the West Coast, but it wasn’t long before his Manhattan house, which counted Broadway stars and theater patrons among its clientele, was hit hard by the stock market crash of 1929. Schepps used this disruption to rethink his approach to jewelry, debuting a new store in 1934 on Madison Avenue, where he would make his mark in playful custom adornments.
While many high-end jewelers of his era focused on the purest and most valuable gemstones, Schepps chose his materials for their color and shape, elevating flawed stones others disregarded in collage-like formations involving unconventional materials such as fine wood, coral, seashells and flea-market finds. Passersby of his New York City shop could find a frog-shaped brooch carved from rosewood, a vintage snuff bottle broken into links for a bracelet and loose-drilled pearls plugged with diamonds. Schepps’s whimsical pieces found fans in fashion icons who appreciated his unique statements, including Doris Duke, Andy Warhol and the Duchess of Windsor.
Following Schepps’s death in 1972, his daughter, jewelry designer Patricia S. Vaill, ran the jewelry house for two decades before it was taken over by Jay Bauer and Anthony Hopenhajm of Trianon jewelry. Following the closure of the company’s Park Avenue store in November 2020, sales for Seaman Schepps is now based in its boutique location out of Palm Beach, Florida, where the legendary brand carries forth its founder’s spirited designs.
On 1stDibs, find a distinctive collection of vintage Seaman Schepps jewelry, including brooches, bracelets and other accessories.